Korea to Restrict Missionary Activities in Mideast?

AP reports that the Foreign Ministry is mulling over whether to stop Christian missionaries from proselytizing in the Middle East:

South Korea is considering restricting Christian missionaries’ travel to the Middle East, where their evangelical work makes them vulnerable to terrorist attack.

Foreign Ministry officials said Thursday that the government may impose restrictions because missionary work in some Middle Eastern nations threatens the safety of not only the missionaries but other South Koreans as well.

“Their work goes against local sentiment and makes them targets of al-Qaida or the Taliban,” a ministry official said on customary condition of anonymity, citing office policy. “There are also strong possibilities that the safety of ordinary citizens could be threatened.”

South Korea has one of the largest populations of missionaries abroad. The Korea World Missions Association said about 19,000 Koreans are doing missionary work around the world.

The Foreign Ministry said dozens of missionaries have been expelled for Christian proselytizing in recent weeks from nations where it is banned, including Iran, Jordan and Yemen.

Now, I think I’ve made my views on Christian missionaries operating in Muslim lands sufficiently clear, but I’m not sure how I feel about the Foreign Ministry trying to stop individuals voluntarily courting martyrdom. It’s probably best to leave it up to Iran, Jordan, Yemen, etc. to decide whether they want to let these people in or not.